


There Is Always Hope

by JustAnotherMarvelGirl



Series: Our Love Is Stronger Than the Universe [30]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, F/M, Witch!Wanda - Freeform, Wizard!Thanos, human!Vision
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:27:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26190382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAnotherMarvelGirl/pseuds/JustAnotherMarvelGirl
Summary: Wanda finally has Thanos, the vilest wizard of all, cornered. However, once he collapses a building behind her, she has to decide between finally ending his terror or saving the innocent man who would be crushed by the rubble.
Relationships: Wanda Maximoff/Vision
Series: Our Love Is Stronger Than the Universe [30]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1880671
Comments: 8
Kudos: 23
Collections: AUgust 2020, Scarlet Vision AU-gust





	There Is Always Hope

**Author's Note:**

> Written for AU-gust day 30: Magic AU
> 
> I am around 80% sure I will continue this one day as a series, but I didn't want to risk it so I put it as complete.
> 
> My inspiration for this was a mix of Harry Potter and Doctor Strange, I hope you enjoy!

He was smirking.

Wanda had seen that malicious smirk so many times she could visualize it even in her dreams now.

 _Thanos_.

The vilest wizard of them all.

She had spent years hunting him down, and he was finally in front of her. Finally cornered with nowhere else to go. They were in a dark, dirty alley, a fitting place for the end of his pitiful existence, and yet, he was smirking.

As if he had another devious plan up his sleeve.

As if he believed he could still escape.

He couldn’t.

His time has come and he was going to pay for all the lives he took, all the pain he had caused.

Wanda’s wand was at the ready, she couldn’t risk lowering it for even a fraction of a second, and she was just starting to cast her spell when she heard his maniacal laugh.

Pathetic.

She could defend herself against anything he cast at her.

She knew she was more powerful than him, they both did, which was why it came as no surprise that he decided to use a dirty trick. Instead of attacking her directly, he cast a spell behind her and sent a part of a building crashing down. Wanda wanted to groan.

Of course he wanted to make as much mess as he could now that he had nowhere to go. Mess that _she_ would have to take care of afterwards.

Still, she didn’t let him distract her, he had aimed too far for it to be dangerous. She finished casting her disarming spell right as she heard the blast behind her and watched as his wand flew to the side.

He was defenseless, all she had to do now was…

There was suddenly a terrified yelp and Wanda turned, just in time to see the building falling on a man who had his hands raised protectively above him.

She reacted instinctively, casting a spell to hold the rubble in place, and heard Thanos laugh behind her.

“You are weak. Your compassion will make you lose every time,” he taunted as she lowered the building’s remains safely down.

By the time she turned back towards him, all she could see was his smirk disappearing through a portal he had created while she was distracted.

Wanda fell to her knees in frustration, fists clenching in front of her.

She wanted to scream, curse him with all curses known and unknown.

He had escaped once more, but the worst thing was, he was right.

She had nothing but her own weakness to blame.

If the situation had been reversed, Thanos would not have hesitated to let an innocent bystander die. But she did. She always would, and Thanos proved he was well aware of that.

Wanda suddenly let out a shocked gasp.

The man!

She got up and turned around to see him staring wide-eyed at her and her wand.

Oh no…

He wasn’t a wizard…

Humans didn’t know that witches and wizards existed, they were never supposed to find out, but Thanos had never cared about the laws. He loved doing magic in front of as many witnesses as possible, inspiring terror in as many humans as he could while he tortured and killed whoever stood in the path of his delusional ideas.

 _I see at long last what’s wrong with the world_ , he had written in his manifesto before starting on his campaign to purge the Earth of her kind, _too many wizards_.

He was a hypocrite, that’s what he was. He believed that the existence of magic had knocked the world out of balance, but that didn’t stop him from using it in order to try and rid the world of it and those who wielded it.

So many innocents had died… Her parents… Her brother… The only thing that kept her going was revenge and the desire to not let him hurt anyone else again.

Wanda steeled herself.

This was the part she always hated. She hated meddling with people’s memories. It felt like such a violation, but it was what was best for everyone, both the other witches and wizards, and the poor man who was bound to be traumatized by the event.

“Thank you,” the man said as she started to approach him. “You saved me.”

Wanda felt a piece of her heart break. He looked at her with no trace of fear, just awe, and she was about to mess with his mind.

But perhaps… perhaps she could convince him he was mistaken without using her magic. She quickly hid the wand in her back pocket.

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” she tried, faking confusion. “I felt an earthquake and heard a scream. As soon as I regained my balance, I came here to check up on you.”

“What? No… I… I know what I saw,” the man protested, and Wanda fought a sigh that wanted to claw its way out her throat. Why couldn’t he just cooperate?

But of course he couldn’t. When were things ever that easy?

“And what did you see?” she asked, crossing her arms.

“There… there was a man. He did something to make the building collapse, and you used a thing that looked like a wand to stop it from crushing me. The man managed to escape through some sort of a portal then.”

Wanda arched her eyebrow in her best approximation of disbelief, hoping to convince him of how ridiculous that sounded.

“I think one of the rocks must have hit your head on its way down. You’re hallucinating,” she replied.

The man shook his head.

“Nothing hurts. I don’t even have a scratch and that shouldn’t be possible, but _you_ made it happen. I _know_ what I saw,” he stressed again, crossing his arms as well.

Wanda finally did sigh now.

She really would have to take away his memories.

She took her wand from her pocket and raised it as she came even closer. He let out a triumphant “I knew it,” eyes filling with excitement until he noticed the look on her face.

The excitement was replaced by fear.

“No, please don’t…” he begged, and Wanda felt her heart break even more. “You… you saved me!”

“I won’t hurt you,” she promised, but she couldn’t keep the sadness out of her voice.

“Please don’t make me forget you,” he whispered.

Wanda’s eyes widened at his words.

“How did you-” she started, unable to hide her surprise. He seemed to be extremely intuitive. There was an infinite number of things a person with a wand could do to you, but his guess was straight to the point.

“You tried to make me believe you weren’t real. And now… now you look like you are about to do something you already regret,” he explained, those blue eyes looking at her with so much sorrow.

Wanda was suddenly frozen in place. What was she supposed to do now? If she proceeded with the spell now, it would be an even bigger violation of his mind than it usually was. He knew, he was begging her not to do it, and his mind would probably fight. It could lead to permanent damage to his mental and motor functions, and Wanda wasn’t sure if she was willing to take that risk.

“It’s for your own good,” she tried meekly, hoping to convince him to let her do it, but a part of her was aware it was a fool’s hope.

“Please don’t,” he said, falling to his knees in the rubble. “I swear I will never tell a soul about you or about anything I saw, I just want to remember it.”

“Why should I trust you?” Wanda asked, fighting to keep her tears from falling.

She desperately wanted to trust him, but it went against everything she knew about humans. They always looked for ways to get rich and famous. He could try to investigate all he could find about witches and wizards, perhaps find some proof and expose them to get his five minutes of fame. With Thanos threatening from the inside, humans becoming aware of their existence could have grave repercussions for her world.

“How can I know that you will keep this a secret?”

“Well, first things first, I would probably be put in a straitjacket if I tried to tell anyone,” he chuckled weakly, shaking his head. “But I can’t forget you. I owe you my life, and, even if I never see you again, I will be forever grateful for that. I _want_ to be. Please, I… I can’t imagine passing by you on the street one day and feeling nothing. I also don’t want to live without the knowledge that there is a beautiful woman out there, wielding magic and protecting innocent people from those who try to hurt them.”

His eyes were so sincere while he pleaded with her, so intense, and Wanda slowly felt her resolve breaking.

“I’m not some sort of a superhero,” she said gently, shaking her head.

“You are to me,” he insisted, slowly standing up. Wanda couldn’t help but reward him with the slightest of smiles.

His eyes suddenly widened.

“That man got away because of me, didn’t he?” he asked, hanging his head in shame.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Wanda countered. “Dirty tricks are his forte. If you hadn’t been here, he would have thought of something else. If anything, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have let my guard down, I should have stopped him before he had a chance to collapse the building.”

“I am truly sorry he escaped,” he said quietly. He opened his mouth as if to say something else but closed it again without a sound.

“I will get him soon. His days of terror are over,” Wanda replied, assuring both him and herself. Thanos was going down and he was going down hard, she was going to make sure of it.

“I know you will. I have faith in you,” he responded, before smiling sheepishly. “Will you tell me your name or will I have to think of you as Scarlet?”

“Scarlet?” Wanda asked, chuckling.

“The magic that came out of your wand was red. His was purple,” he explained, shrugging his shoulders.

He truly was observant, but she wouldn’t tell him that. Or the meaning of the colors for that matter. The less he knew, the better.

Still, she liked the nickname.

“Scarlet it is,” she laughed. Against her better judgement, she couldn’t stay silent. “And what may I call you?”

“Well, my… my friends call me Vision,” he replied, giving her a boyish smile, and Wanda smirked slightly.

“Oh? Is that what we are?” she teased, arching an eyebrow.

Vision blushed, looking away from her, and Wanda decided to put him out of his misery.

“Stay safe, Vision,” she said, smiling gently. “Try to stay away from menacing wizards.”

“I will. But in case one does find me, I’ll be looking out for wisps of scarlet to save me,” he whispered.

Wanda chuckled, shaking her head.

He was adorably naïve.

“There’s no guarantee I will ever see you again, let alone be able to save you.”

“Perhaps. But there is always hope,” Vision replied, smiling widely.

Wanda returned his smile before waving her wand and creating a portal.

She wished she could stay, get to know this sweet and handsome stranger. Perhaps take him out to dinner, make a precedent and introduce him to her world.

Wanda forced those thoughts out of her head as the portal closed behind her. She had her duty to think about. Her revenge. The safety of her kind.

And yet, a single thought still lingered stubbornly at the back of her mind.

 _There is always hope_.


End file.
